Open for business bringing digital engagement and strategy to life

• Published in: Strategic HR Review Vol. 9; no. 6; pp. 16 - 21
• Main Authors: Holt, Andy, Diggins, Paul
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Emerald Group Publishing Limited 19.10.2010
• Subjects: Communication; Communication technologies; Corporate strategy; Organizations
• ISSN: 1475-4398; 1758-8537
• DOI: 10.1108/14754391011078072

Purpose Bringing corporate strategies to life and engaging with staff have become key concerns of HR directors and CEOs alike in recent years. Active engagement and meaningful involvement in that strategy are difficult to achieve. This paper aims to document two successful internal communication projects in a multinational company, TMobile. Designmethodologyapproach Open was already an awardwinning paperbased internal communication that, as part of TMobile UK's overall strategy for multichannel internal communication, was migrated to a digital platform. This represented a cultural shift for the employees within the organization. Findings TMobile and Words & Pictures codeveloped an approach involving cartoon characters, each representing a strategic business focus, which captured the imagination of the mobile operator's employees and delivered impressive online statistics of engagement, including increased reader time and 95 percent readership enjoyment. This was supported by an increased employee understanding of key strategic issues. Practical implications Words & Pictures concludes that other organizations wishing to achieve similar digital engagement should first understand the employees and their needs for communication and secondly should see the digital platform as a genuine opportunity to reinforce the brand. Originalityvalue This TMobile and Words & Pictures case study focuses on two awardwinning internal communications projects that were successful in improving employee engagement through the transferal from paper to digital communication.